REGINA — The Government of Saskatchewan has proclaimed June 2023 as Deafblind Awareness Month to raise awareness and inform about the experiences of Saskatchewan residents who are deafblind.
Individuals are considered deafblind if they have a combined loss of both hearing and vision to the point that neither can be used as a primary source of information gathering and communication.
Deafblind Awareness Month has been proclaimed in partnership with the Canadian Deafblind Association - Saskatchewan Chapter (CDBA-SK). CDBA-SK's mission is to provide individualized programs that honour the unique needs of persons who are deafblind while advocating for independence and a quality of life that ensures dignity and respect.
"CDBA Saskatchewan provides both residential and day program supports for people experiencing deafblindness to empower individuals to be as independent as possible," CDBA-SK Executive Director Leanne Kerr said.
"Our Intervention Team comes up with amazingly creative ways to support individuals while continuing to honour one of the most important principles of intervention: 'Do with, not for.' We continue to strive for the best in providing person-centred supports, and the assistance of the Saskatchewan government makes achieving this goal possible."
In the 2023-24 provincial budget, the government allocated funding of $170,000 to enhance services for D/deaf and deafblind people in Saskatchewan.
The Government of Saskatchewan also recently passed The Accessible Saskatchewan Act to prevent and remove accessibility barriers for persons with disabilities. The act allows government to establish accessibility standards through regulations in the following areas: the built environment, information and communications, employment, transportation, service animals, and procurement and service delivery. Government will soon develop an application and selection process to appoint members to the Accessibility Advisory Committee, which will be comprised of persons with disabilities and impacted stakeholders, who will make recommendations about accessibility standards. Government has also started work on the general regulations that require public sector bodies to develop accessibility plans.
To keep up to date with the progress of Saskatchewan's accessibility legislation, please visit .
For more information about CDBA, please visit .
